SPONSORED CONTENT A galvanized M-Series SMART Conveyor delivers hog fuel to the boiler at a Canfor lumber mill. S-Series SMART Conveyors deliver wood waste at Nicolet Hardwoods. Head and tail sections of S-Series SMART Conveyors sit ready for assembly at BE&E’s factory in Indianapolis, Indiana. every 40 feet, unlike most conventional conveyors. According to Floyd, this greatly reduces the time and cost of the installation. This modular approach also means the conveyors are maintenance-friend-ly. Since all of the components are bolted or riveted together, there’s no need for cutting, welding or hot work permits, explains Cory Frashefski, technical sales and projects lead for BE&E. “When you have a sealed conveyor system, the hot work re -quires that a conveyor be blown out and cleaned out before any work can continue. By eliminating that, we’ve really reduced the maintenance and downtime required to get the conveyor back up and running,” he says. SMART Conveyors also help reduce plants’ operational costs be -cause they are designed with friction in mind, using roller chains in a dual chain system connected by high-density polyethylene paddles, Frashefski says. “Our paddles are not physically touching the bottom pan or side walls of the conveyor, so our only friction is our chain, which is gliding on UHMW [ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene] strips,” he explains. As a result, SMART Conveyors require less horsepower than traditional drag conveyors. Less friction also means less heat, which lowers the chance of a combustible dust incident – a key safety issue for any biomass operation. “Working with the dust properties, we establish the rating for that particular environment and that particular dust with the cus-tomer, and then we work with folks like CV Technology, who de-sign these types of systems, [to] put the minimum necessary num -ber of panels on [the conveyor] to maintain the safety level that is required,” Kalil explains, noting the conveyors are fully compliant with all National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) regulations concerning dust safety. “If the properties of the dust change and it becomes a bigger issue – for example, the KST value goes up – you can very easily add additional panels after the fact because it’s all modularized and we have a standard interface to the conveyor for those panels,” he adds. Bolt-on explosion vents, explosion panels and sprinkler or del-uge systems can also be mounted to the top of the conveyor to address dust safety requirements. Screen inspection windows – steel screens that can be opened to inspect the inside of the conveyor while it’s operating – also help maintain a dust-tight environment and protect workers from additional risks and hazards. SMART Conveyors are also designed to mitigate other safety risks. Although the conveyors are fully enclosed, all preventative maintenance can be done without opening them and exposing people to hazards. For example, the roller chains can be tensioned on the outside of the conveyor while it continues running. Shaft-mounted gear motors also eliminate the need for additional guarding and cages, Kalil says. “There are no pinch points, there are no guards required, be -cause the design is inherently safe,” he explains. “It’s not some -thing you come across after the fact and then have to spend an ex-tra $5,000 or $10,000 putting guards up to protect your employees from what is actually a very dangerous piece of equipment.” “Safety is the primary reason why proper conveyance and proper machinery is really [important],” Frashefski adds. “We’re still see -ing and responding to mill fires caused by explosive dust or machin -ery fires [...]. Our mission is to mitigate and eliminate these risks.” As part of that mission, BE&E works with customers to trouble-shoot any issues and improve the conveyors’ safety and reliability. “Once we’ve worked through an issue and found a solution, we commonly take that knowledge and apply it to the next revisions or designs,” Frashefski says. “So, we’re continuing to learn and grow.” For more information, please visit beande.com LESS FRICTION, LESS DUST PRIORITIZING SAFETY
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